Recently my friend Ben told me off an incident when he was in the USHe was walking home and came across a beggar. Here is the conversation they had: Beggar: “Hey, do you know of any shelters around here?”Ben: “umm… no I’m sorry I don’t know of any shelters around here.”

Beggar: “Okay, Can I stay at your place tonight? It’s raining.”Ben: (a little startled) “No, I’m sorry. I have a roommate and don’t know how he would feel about that.”

Ben is Approached by Beggars Every dayLiving in the Mission (San Francisco) Ben is approached by a Beggars a lot. He never gives any of them money. So, what made this situation so different? Why did he give this one a dollar?This beggar is a Sales Genius!The Beggar understands how to influence people. He used two techniques most marketers know about.Sales Technique #1: FOOT IN THE DOORThe Beggar knew that people like Ben are constantly getting hounded for change. The usual response is to ignore them. By asking a simple yes or no question like “Do you know of any shelter around here?”. The Beggar was able to get Ben engaged (or “his Foot in the Door”). This simple yes/no question opens up the ability to ask Ben another question or a favor – it will be much much harder for Ben to ignore the Beggar after he responds to a question.

Sales Technique #2: DENNIS THE MENACEAsk for something crazy so that your next offer seems like nothing. The Beggar knew that asking for a $1.00 is a lot of money since most beggers are asking for 25 cents. So instead he asked for something crazy like a place to stay so that his next proposal ($1.00) seems like nothing. Honestly I think he could have asked for $5.00 and gotten it.

The moral of the storyNext time you want something follow these 3 steps:Step 1: Ask a simple yes/no question to start the conversation (get your foot in the door)Step 2: Ask for something grand (like a lot of money or time)Step 3: Ask for the thing you actually want (like a couple dollars, a 20 minute phone call, a simple partnership)rishivshah@gmail.com

Masss was pioneered by C Fernandes.He has more than 15years in offering Sales Support services to various leading Companies who offer their wares to the ConstructionIndustry. He specializes in Surveys~Data~Research